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  Civil
engineers work with other engineering specialists
to draw together all of the information they provide to plan
and design the overall layout of the dam and the other structures
at the site. The position selected for the dam will depend
on the amount of water it will hold back in the reservoir.
It also needs to be located where the rock or soil is strong
enough to support its weight.
The civil engineers decide on the
best type of dam for the site and on the most suitable materials
to be used.
They have to consider all
of the forces that can act on the dam and its foundation.
These include the force of the reservoir water on the dam
and the effect of the weight of the dam on the materials within
it and on the foundation below. In some regions, the effects
of earthquakes have to be considered.
Civil engineers carry out mathematical
calculations to model the dam and the effects of the forces
on them. When the calculations get too complicated to do by
hand they use computers. With these calculations they can
make sure that they are designing safe structures.
The pipework, valves
and floodgates
for dams are designed by mechanical engineers.
The civil engineering designers are responsible
for producing technical drawings showing how the dam is to
be constructed. They also produce documents stating exactly
how some of the construction processes should be carried out
to make sure that the final dam is built to a high standard.
Civil engineering contractors use this information to build
the dam.
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